Joseph's Journey
“Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” [19] But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? [20] As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. [21] So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
Most of us are very familiar with the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. I think this is probably one of my favorite stories because it has so many theological and practical implications and is a beautiful story of both forgiveness and God’s sovereignty. Here I want to focus more on God’s sovereignty.
Joseph as a young man was the favorite of his father Jacob’s sons and as a result of that, along with a couple of dreams where he revealed his brothers would one day bow down to him, he was very much hated by his brothers. They developed a hatred so strong that one day while they were alone with him in the field, after first plotting to kill him they eventually settled on selling him as a slave to passing tradesmen.
From there Joseph’s life was full of ups and downs as he experienced success within Egyptian culture, false accusations, lengthy imprisonment, and success once again. In that final bout of success, Joseph was appointed as the second in command next to Pharaoh over all of Egypt and their affairs, and through the wisdom of God, he orchestrated the preservation of the Egyptian and Israelite nations from the coming seven-year drought God had revealed to him.
All the things written about Joseph in Genesis are seemingly void of any hint of unwavering faith or commitment to God throughout his life. Joseph knew God was with him and he believed and understood that God was sovereign over all the events that unfolded in his life. Even in the midst of intense and relentless temptation, he remained faithful to God. At the end of the story Joseph’s faithfulness to the Lord ended with a beautiful picture of redemption, forgiveness, and hope as Joseph and his family were reunited.
Every time I read this story I can’t help but be gripped with various levels of emotion as you see how Joseph was treated by his family, by the Egyptians, and how he endured the hardships of uncertainty and imprisonment, not knowing what the future would bring. Yet he trusted God through it all. In the end, we see the amazing restoration of relationships and forgiveness as he was united with his brothers and his father.
Joseph sets a good example for us to follow when life presents challenges that may seem impossible to overcome when things don’t go the way, we would like. Joseph also sets an example of how to remain confident and steadfast in the Lord through those challenges.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”
We see here that Joseph understood that the hardships in his life served a greater purpose, not so much a purpose for Joseph himself, but a purpose for God. God orchestrated the events of Josephs's life to preserve His nation, Israel.
As we walk in our faith with the Lord, we too should seek to have the right perspective, a godly perspective. A perspective centered on the bigger picture, less about us, more about Christ, all for the sake of others. It’s easy in the midst of hardship to focus on our suffering and either become obsessed with trying to change or manipulate our circumstances in order to secure our own personal comfort and wellbeing. Or we can be tempted to just give up altogether, which usually culminates in spiraling downward into despair and hopelessness.
I wouldn’t be where I am today in my walk with the Lord had it not been for the immense tragedy I experienced some time ago, including the years of heartaches and foolish, selfish decisions that followed. In the height of my personal struggles God broke me down and opened my eyes to my need for Him. In the process of navigating the hardships, I questioned everything about life, death, my salvation, my future, etc. I thought there was no hope, I thought I was ruined until my death.
But, looking back God was faithful through it all, God was loving me through the pain, sorrow, and despair. Even through the missteps, backsliding, doubts, and fears. I definitely didn’t respond to my circumstances like Joseph, I didn’t understand God well enough. In my own ignorance I failed miserably to pursue Christ-like I should have, I didn’t have a Joseph-like level of confidence in the Lord, nor a level of commitment to the Lord like he did, but the Lord pursued me regardless. All of our situations and responses are different, but that doesn’t nullify God’s ability to wake us up and straighten us out. Nor does it negate our responsibility to repent and turn to Him in faith.
As I have grown and matured these past years, I look back now, and I see clearly how God was working for my good and most importantly for His glory. God wasn’t working to facilitate my worldly success, He wasn’t focused on establishing my personal wellbeing, He wasn’t advocating for my physical comfort, but instead, He was working for my salvation and for my sanctification in Christ, all to His glory and for His purposes.
I’m a project that is still under heavy construction and I find that the greatest blessings in my life are most prominent in the height of active spiritual construction, when I’m reading and studying His word, walking in repentance and obedience to His will. These blessings are profound regardless of my life’s circumstances. Even in the lows they can be recognized and experienced when I remain committed to Him.
We see from the story of Joseph and throughout all of scripture that God works in the darkness and in the pain. All the Old Testament saints and the New Testament apostles suffered greatly in their mission and ministry and yet God was still with them. Of the New Testament saints, Paul suffered the most. He even said in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Paul knew his worldly suffering would end once he died and was safe with Christ in heaven, but he also knew the reward of enduring the suffering for the sake of spreading the gospel of Christ so that many others may also rejoice in and experience eternal salvation through Jesus.
My hope is that you would take some time to go back and read Genesis chapters 37-50 and see firsthand how God worked in Joseph’s story. Look to see how God sovereignly orchestrated the events to accomplish His perfect plan. May you take the time to appreciate Joseph’s fervent commitment to the Lord despite his circumstances and may we all seek to have that same level of commitment to trusting in the Lord with an acute awareness of His sovereignty in all of life’s situations.
Life’s events are not an accident, trouble and heartaches don’t slip God’s knowledge nor do they slip by His sovereign will for our lives. Even our successes no matter how great or small are given by God. We can’t earn them; we can’t make them happen no matter how strong our will is or how awesome we think we are (Only God is truly awesome!). God sets the stage, He appoints our birth (Acts 17), He gives the good gifts, the blessings, the talents, the intellect, the very life in our being and it is He that ordains our circumstances and events, to include the hardships (see the book of Job) so that His name, His mighty works, His perfect plan may be displayed and proclaimed among all of the nations.
I’m convinced it is imperative that we focus our attention on reading and studying God’s Word so we can effectively recognize how His hand works throughout all of life’s situations. Only then will we begin to have a right perspective on this life and its struggles, a godly perspective, one that is evident for the world to see. Where we then possess a Christ-like character as Joseph did which is evident to the world around us. A Christ-like character, in word and action, where those around us witness our attitudes and behaviors as we respond to whatever life throws and either choose in their pride to ignore, reject, persecute, or are instead humbly inspired to curiously inquire, pursue, and accept the saving grace of our Lord Jesus because of the evidence of the work He has done in us.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
